Another year of blogging and another year of pen buying. Like the top 5 inks of 2016 list, the criteria to make it onto the list are simple. Firstly, I must have made the purchase of the pen during the year. And, I’ve used it and loved it. With that out of the way, onto the list.

This is a good value for money beginner fountain pen, not that only beginners can use the Loom. Mine came with one of the smoothest stainless steel nib that I’ve ever used. Coupled with it’s ability to take both a standard international cartridge and converter it makes the Loom an versatile and outstanding fountain pen.

My personal experience with my Kaweco ICE Sport aside, the Kaweco Supra took me by surprise with both its ingenuity with the extender and the size of the nib. The #6 nib makes the Supra easily upgradable because you are not only limited to only Kaweco offerings. The Supra is the best EDC fountain pen I have in my collection now.

The Pilot Custom 823 in amber was acquired this year. It has a giant ink capacity and a fantastic nib that wrote well out of the box. I must say the Pilot Custom 823 is one of the best workhorse fountain pens around.

I have a love / hate relationship with the pen but after switching to the Hobonichi and then the Traveler’s Notebook for my daily planner, the Pilot Vanishing Point shines as the pen that I pair with my planner. It’s a pen that I come crawling back to even after selling my first. My preferred nib is the stainless steel nib instead of the softer 18K one, the stainless steel nib helps with quick note taking and on the go writing.

What can I say? I am a sucker for the way a fountain pen looks. Look! Pretty fox, that actually is raised. Plus, that SF nib is just sublime. The very tactile experience of writing is addictive and tingles my senses. This isn’t a pen for everyone for sure due to the price but I love mine, a lot.

I have more stainless steel nibs on the list than gold. That speaks to the quality and writing experience that can be achieved with a good stainless steel nib. A gold nib isn’t needed for a great writing experience. The enjoyment of a fountain pen isn’t just limited to the writing experience too.